Quote:
Originally Posted by BigTuna
He would be the best defenseman on teams like New York, Pittsburgh and Anaheim easy. This "Second/Third Pairing" talk is nuts. He was +19 most of the season in Toronto shutting-down the NHL's top stars.
He's #1 in the ENTIRE NHL the past 2 season in QOC stats. He finished 11th in Norris voting last season. But he's not even a top 50 or 80 NHL D-Man? What?
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I believe the argument is that his skillset is better suited to second pairing minutes. Dion isn't a shut down defenceman and shouldn't be iced as such. The years he excelled in Calgaru, he was getting offensive zone starts and wasnt facing the other teams best lines.
The last couple seasons he's played the tough minutes and it's exposed his weaknesses. If he were to go to a team and have an offensive support role he'd probably flourish. Give him similar ice to Duncan Keith and Dion would do a lot better.
He's better than a 50-80 dman but he can't handle the difficult minutes.